Background: Improving health literacy and increasing the use of reliable health information may reduce vulnerability to unreliable health-related information. Health professionals may help in translating the knowledge to nonprofessionals, but they often find it challenging.
Objectives: To show our experiences and pathway of knowledge translation (KT) actions for consumers.
Methods: We applied for funding from the Social Responsibility of Science. Project started in the November 2022 and will last for 2 years. The project is based on Cochrane systematic reviews (SRs) and plain language summaries (PLSs). We started collaboration with health professionals to prioritise SR’s topics which are deemed important to healthcare practice (e.g., physiotherapists) and to patients’ groups with whom we already cooperate (e.g., cystic fibrosis patients). Prioritization was based on subjective assessments on a scale from one to ten of the utility of the topic for healthcare practice completed by two healthcare professionals independently. SRs which got the highest assessments and were deemed to be current were grouped into themes by health condition. Results from SRs will be shared using plain language summaries and additionally expressed in the form of infographics and animations. All necessary professional terms will be explained with comic drawings or short (1-3 minute) webinars. The aim for all is to make an easily readable and understandable “information pill” from each theme. All our experiences and expertise, gathered from our work as Cochrane Poland, will be structured to prepare the guide for Polish professionals to help in everyday KT.
Results: Project is connected with translations of 120 PLSs per year and preparation of additional products (infographics, animations). We expect to have at least three topic themes expressed in plain language and described in graphic forms for presentation during the Cochrane Colloquium.
Conclusions: Promotion of SRs among health professionals in Poland still needs effort, but translation of studies results’ into easily accessible language for patients and lay audience is even more challenging and emerging.
Patient, public and/or healthcare consumer involvement: Our project mainly aims to bring professional knowledge from Cochrane SRs close to patients’ everyday lives.